Warrantless Searches And The Watertown Manhunt
Posted: April 25, 2013 Filed under: General Law | Tags: boston marathon, exigent circumstances, fourth amendment 5 CommentsIn the wake of the Boston Marathon tragedy and the manhunt in Watertown, MA for the two suspects, many people have asked me whether it is constitutional for the police to set of up a perimeter in a town and search–without a warrant–every house in the perimeter for potentially armed and dangerous suspects.
Of course, there is no Fourth Amendment problem with the search if the occupants of the house give their consent, assuming it was not obtained under duress. But what if they do not consent? Must the police obtain a warrant, or does the “exigent circumstances” exception to the warrant requirement apply? Read the rest of this entry »
Miranda Rights And The Boston Marathon Bomber
Posted: April 21, 2013 Filed under: General Law | Tags: miranda 1 CommentThere is a great deal of misleading and confusing buzz in the traditional media and the blogosphere about the Department of Justice’s decision not to read Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights before questioning him (once his medical condition improves). The DOJ is invoking the “public safety” exception to Miranda, set forth in New York v. Quarles, 467 U.S. 649 (1984). Read the rest of this entry »
The United States Senate: Our Undemocratic National Disgrace
Posted: April 18, 2013 Filed under: General Law, Legal History | Tags: filibuster, structure 3 CommentsBlame Aaron Burr. Not only did he kill Alexander Hamilton in a duel, he is arguably responsible for the filibuster, the procedural rule that effectively requires 60 votes in the U.S. Senate–ten more than a simple majority–to pass any bill. The institution oft-described as the “world’s greatest deliberative body” has been reduced to a national disgrace, a laughing-stock, a body composed of mostly rich, mostly white men, who can’t even enact legislation requiring meaningful background checks on individuals who want to buy firearms. Read the rest of this entry »
Former Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey Controversial Choice As UCONN Law School Visiting Scholar
Posted: April 6, 2013 Filed under: General Law, Legal History | Tags: michael mukasey, torture, waterboarding 1 CommentLaw schools, like all academic institutions, should be places that promote freedom of speech and thought; that encourage, indeed provoke, students to think deep and hard about difficult issues and to consider alternate points of view. They should not shy away from inviting controversial speakers to their campuses. But when they do, students, faculty, administrators, and the public at large, should not be reluctant to challenge the speakers’ expressed views. The best responses to disagreeable speech are tough questions and opposing speech, not banning the speaker.
Lessons Learned, Lessons Forgotten–The Sealing (And Unsealing) Of The Sandy Hook Search Warrants
Posted: March 31, 2013 Filed under: General Law Leave a commentAfter a three-month delay due to a judicial sealing order, state officials last Thursday released five slightly redacted search warrants related to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Having reviewed the disclosed information, it seems to me that most of it could have been revealed months ago without jeopardizing the investigation (or causing unnecessary pain to the families of the victims). It is fair to ask whether the legal predicates to sealing the search warrants and supporting affidavits in their entirety were satisfied. I think not.
The Tyranny Of The Billable Hour
Posted: March 29, 2013 Filed under: General Law Leave a commentIn a past post, The Growing Law School Disaster, I wrote about several very disturbing trends concerning law school graduate debt and lowering law school admission standards. In a terrific op-ed in the New York Times today, attorney Steven J. Harper writes about a closely related issue: the billable hour system and the deleterious effects that system has on the profession, individual lawyers and the clients we serve. Harper writes:
The billable-hour system is the way most lawyers in big firms charge clients, but it serves no one. Well, almost no one. It brings most equity partners in those firms great wealth. Law firm leaders call it a leveraged pyramid. Most associates call it a living hell.
The “Nanny State” Ctd.
Posted: March 25, 2013 Filed under: General Law | Tags: autonomy, nanny state, paternalism Leave a commentFurther to my earlier post about new arguments in favor of paternalistic legislation, Prof. Sarah Conly has an op-ed in today’s NY Times concerning the subject matter of her new book, Against Autonomy: Justifying Coercive Paternalism. For folks interested in the arguments for and against NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to limit the size of sodas that can be sold in New York, and similar “liberty limiting” legislation, the op-ed is a great read. Money quote:
Of course, what people fear is that this is just the beginning: today it’s soda, tomorrow it’s the guy standing behind you making you eat your broccoli, floss your teeth, and watch “PBS NewsHour” every day. What this ignores is that successful paternalistic laws are done on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis: if it’s too painful, it’s not a good law. Making these analyses is something the government has the resources to do, just as now it sets automobile construction standards while considering both the need for affordability and the desire for safety. Read the rest of this entry »
The Growing Law School Disaster
Posted: March 13, 2013 Filed under: General Law Leave a commentI had the opportunity this past weekend to personally congratulate McCarter & English partner Tim Fisher on his appointment as the new dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law. Tim is a great guy and a terrific lawyer. His selection as dean marks a clear turning point for UCONN, which has traditionally drawn its law school deans from the ranks of academia.
I know Tim is looking forward to his new position. But, boy oh boy, what challenges he will face. (The following comments deal with law schools in general, not UCONN specifically.)
Autonomy v. Paternalism: Arguments For And Against The “Nanny State.”
Posted: March 4, 2013 Filed under: General Law | Tags: autonomy, nanny state, paternalism Leave a commentWhat do mandatory seat belt, motorcycle helmet and “no sweetened drinks in containers larger than 16 oz.” laws have in common: They are all examples of paternalistic, i.e., “government knows what’s best for you,” legislation. In a country that places a premium on individual autonomy and the notion, a la John Stuart Mill and On Liberty, that people should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as they don’t hurt someone else (Mill’s “Harm Principle”), paternalistic legislation always provokes very strong feelings.
Appealingly Brief! 